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Celebrating Moms and Daughters

On my mom’s side of the family, the “boy” cousins outnumber the “girl” cousins ten to six. Growing up, I didn’t get to know most of my cousins all that well, except for Becky. Becky is a month older than me and she’s the “oops” baby of her family. My mom was herself an “oops” baby, which meant by the time she had us kids, there was enough of an age gap between us and our cousins that we were never all that close.

One of the benefits of growing older is that such age gaps begin to close. For the past several years, each time there is a family gathering, the bond between the cousins seems to grow stronger. My oldest cousin is fifteen or more years older than me and he’s been a grandpa for several years. “Oops” babies seem to be a trend in this family. My oldest cousin’s youngest child is just a year older than my youngest child. And I love that because having children of similar ages is a one of the things that ties us all closer together.

Lately, the girl cousins have been proposing that we start a tradition of girl-cousin get-togethers. It always seems like a great idea when we’re together, but when we go our separate ways, life gets in the way and these girl-cousin parties never seem to transpire; that is, until this past weekend. Well over a month ago, my cousin, Jean emailed all of us girls and proposed not just a girl-cousin party, but a moms and daughters and daughters-in-law and granddaughters party in honor of Mothers Day. Last Saturday was the day it all came together.

It was a gorgeous, warm day and we all gathered at Jean’s house for brunch. Everyone contributed a salad or dessert. There was much hugging and talking, laughing and reminiscing. There was plenty of picture-taking and story-swapping. My mom was feeling well and it was great to see her together with all three of her sisters, enjoying her family who she doesn’t see often enough. It was one of those beautiful times that reminded me what a precious gift family can be.

What a great looking family! You all must have had so much fun! I, myself, have 5 cousins total, and only 2 are girls. One is about 10 years older, one about 10 years younger. Just recently the older cousin and I have become very good friends. It is funny that as you age, the gap tends to close – as you mentioned.
Do you all live pretty close?

Thank you! We do live close. My parents, my siblings and I are all in the Minneapolis area. Our family are just across the state border in several of the western Wisconsin towns, so none are more than maybe an hour away.

Who took the pictures? They really turned out well. Can’t be you because you are in most of them. Or did you use a remote? Anyway I’m amazed at everyone having such a positive expression. Definitely not the case when Wife tries to get our family in pictures :)

What a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day Weekend! It’s great to have your family remain so close (geographically and spiritually). What a great looking bunch. I bet your mom was elated to see everyone under one roof. Kudos to the girl cousins to pull this one off. I would surmise that, if the guy cousins had organized it, instead of salad and dessert and story-swapping, it probably have been beer & chips & bad jokes.

Several of my girl cousins on my Dad’s side get together usually twice a year and on one of those occasions, they go to the shore -either in May or September -but when it isn’t jam-packed and they have a long weekend visit together then, just them -no spouses, no children or grandkids. They are all granddaughters of my oldest uncle. On my Mom’s side, I don’t think anyone has ever thought of having a gathering of just the females but I think it would be a neat tradition to start -if possible.

Lovely family. This story is what the majority of life should be about. Enjoy each other for as long as you can. When I first looked at all the ladies grouped, I thought I was seeing a field of beautiful and beautifully scented roses